US expeditions to explore Arctic shelf
A US research mission will this week head towards the Arctic as part of a bid to prove that the Alaskan continental shelf stretches far beyond the 200-mile limit.
The missions come few days after the US Geological Survey announced new estimates for hydrocarbon reserves in the Arctic. As BarentsObserver previously reported, the survey estimates that 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered technically recoverable resources are to be found in the Arctic.
This year’s missions will be headed by the US Geological Survey, the US State Department informs in a press release.
Margaret Hays, director of the oceanic affairs office at the US State Department, said the US/Canada mission would explore “places nobody’s gone before”, the Telegraph reports.
The expeditions is initiated by the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Task Force, chaired by the Department of State. Two Arctic cruises, one of them with the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy will be held. The second mission will be conducted in collaboration with the Government of Canada.
The collaboration will “assist both countries in defining the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean,” the US State Department said. “It will also save millions of dollars for both countries, provide data of great interest to both countries, and increase scientific and diplomatic cooperation”, the press note continues.
The expeditions also come as Canadian researchers say they have clear indications that the Lomonosov Ridge is part of the Canadian shelf. As BarentsObserver reported last week, the statement challenges Russian claims for the area.
